diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/explain/explain_caps/explain_caps.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/explain/explain_caps/explain_caps.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f51edc1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/explain/explain_caps/explain_caps.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+/*
+* Description  : EXPLAIN a plan for a very simple query
+* Expected Res : Success
+* Date         : Jul 25, 2016
+*/
+EXPLAIN select value 1+1;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_sqlpp.xml b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_sqlpp.xml
index fa29a42..9021994 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_sqlpp.xml
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_sqlpp.xml
@@ -69,6 +69,11 @@
         <output-dir compare="Text">explain_simple</output-dir>
       </compilation-unit>
     </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="explain">
+      <compilation-unit name="explain_caps">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">explain_simple</output-dir>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
   </test-group>
   <!--
     <test-group name="union">
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/javacc/SQLPP.jj b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/javacc/SQLPP.jj
index 0bb0b87..a0a9742 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/javacc/SQLPP.jj
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/javacc/SQLPP.jj
@@ -1568,7 +1568,7 @@
   Query query;
 }
 {
-  "explain" query = Query(true)
+  <EXPLAIN> query = Query(true)
   {
     return query;
   }
@@ -2878,6 +2878,7 @@
   | <DISTINCT : "distinct">
   | <DROP : "drop">
   | <ELEMENT : "element">
+  | <EXPLAIN : "explain">
   | <ELSE : "else">
   | <ENFORCED : "enforced">
   | <END : "end">